June 11, 1962, Antwerp<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To my friend,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I received what you wrote, and in these lines you open your heart, what is missing and what is abundant. May you succeed in the new place. \u201cArise and go up\u201d means that the place causes. That is, sometimes a person rises by sitting, meaning by \u201csit and do not do,\u201d as our sages said, \u201cSat and did not commit a transgression; it is as though he performed a Mitzva<\/em> (good deed\/correction).\u201d Also, sometimes he ascends in degree by rising and doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It follows that \u201cArise and go up\u201d refers to his ascent by rising and doing. This means that the \u201cdo\u201d is more important than \u201cdo not do,\u201d as our sages said, \u201cDo repels do not do,\u201d since man\u2019s way is to love rest, and in \u201cdo,\u201d when he must get up he has more labor, so it is more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In ethics, \u201cdo not do\u201d is more important, as explained in the holy Zohar<\/em>. But in the revealed, regarded as the externality of the Torah, where we begin with externality, and then, when we keep the externality, we begin delve into the internality, the order of the work is that \u201cdo\u201d is greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is so because initially, man chooses only rest. Hence, where he should arise and not be in \u201csit and do not do,\u201d it is more difficult for him. And in all the places where there is more labor, it is more important. But once he is used to the work, he considers only the profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo not do\u201d indicates that the pleasure appearing by Torah and Mitzvot<\/em>, and there is the matter that a great reward and pleasure appears, which is forbidden to receive before the end of correction, as our sages said, \u201cThe pig is destined to return to the Torah\u201d \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n And let us return to our issue. We must know that man\u2019s main purpose in this world is to be rewarded with the sweet pleasantness and savor of the Torah. Only when one feels the sweetness of the Torah can he see that he is the happiest man in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But when he looks at the rest of the people, it evokes in him pity at how they are spending their lives in torment, and never feel any flavor in life that will be worth suffering the torments they are suffering in the world in return for the pleasure they are receiving for the toil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And even they cannot explain why they agree to live under such conditions. But the real reason is that \u201cYou live against your will,\u201d and this is why they want to live, and \u201cAll that a man has he will give for his life.\u201d And even though according to the calculation that he will do it is better to give up living, still, the \u201cYou live against your will,\u201d does not let him think this, but rather man wants to exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, we need to understand why the Creator would do such a thing\u2014that man\u2019s vitality will be only because of recognition and not because of pleasure. Indeed, it is done only for man\u2019s correction. That is, on the one hand he sees that it is not worthwhile to live for corporeality, meaning that corporeal pleasure will not suffice for him, for the labor that one must pay for this. And for this reason there is room for one to introspect and place all his ambitions in the Torah. If he is satisfied in corporeality, he will never conclude that it is better to move from corporeal needs to spiritual needs. Were it not for the matter of \u201cYou live against your will,\u201d every person would immediately commit suicide, so as to not suffer torments. It turns out that \u201cYou live against your will\u201d helps him only so as to not escape from the torments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Suffering cleanses one\u2019s iniquities. That is, the suffering causes him to place all his passions only in Torah and Mitzva<\/em> [commandment], by which he is rewarded with the vitality of the Torah. We say about this, \u201cfor they are our lives and the length of our days.\u201d That is, we want long lives not because \u201cYou live against your will,\u201d but because \u201cThey are our lives,\u201d which is really life, and this is why we want such days to prolong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And since now you have made the \u201cArise and go up,\u201d meaning went into a new place, \u201cAnd you have not a thing that has no place\u201d (Avot<\/em> 4:3), you should try to always be as in \u201cArise and go up,\u201d and not be idle but rise higher and higher and be rewarded with the pleasantness of the brightness of the light of Torah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From your friend, Baruch Shalom HaLevi,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Son of Baal HaSulam<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" June 11, 1962, Antwerp To my friend, I received what you wrote, and in these lines you open your heart, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":6249,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[26],"class_list":["post-13788","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-rabash"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n